Speechless
by Ana Zaira Stark
Summary: Ela Watson has lived a difficult life, but her life will change when she moves to Derry to live with her uncle, a small town where her childhood best friend, Victor Criss, lives. But he also did not imagine that there he would find an evil clown named Pennywise who would show Ela her fears while she feels a great feeling for Victor and the psychopath Henry Bowers.
1. Prologue

**Stockbridge, Massachusetts**

**April 1983**

The red and blue lights of the patrols were constantly shining, even that of the ambulances, although I was in my father's car, those lights hit me so intensely, the screams were so loud that I heard them as if I was next to the one who shouts, I looked scared at my parents who were standing in front of the car, hugging each other desperate to hear news.

I am identical to my mother, I have blonde hair and white skin and my honey-colored eyes inherit it from my paternal grandfather.

There is a loud noise that I scream terrified as I continued to see the house surrounded by patrols, police and people. There were scared people like my parents, desperate to get through the police and patrols. I wanted to go out and help, since in that house a madman has a group of 9-year-old girls and also younger ones and one of them is my seven-year-old sister Ana, he took her four days ago while we were playing together with other children on the street in front of our houses.

"Mom, dad ... What's going on? Where is Ana? "I ask in fright as I get out of the car.

"No Ela, no!" My mother quickly returns me to the car. "Stay inside, it's very dangerous.

"But…"

"What's going on?" My uncle James, my father's younger brother, approaches, he is a policeman from the town of Derry who upon learning what happened to Ana traveled immediately to help.

"Uncle James, where is Ana? When will they take it out? "I asked scared.

"Calm down Ela, everything will be fine," he says, stroking my head momentarily. "Put Ela in the car and make sure she doesn't get out." He tells my mother and then meets the other police.

"Mom."

"She will be fine, she will be fine, she will soon return home with us," he says while giving me a fake smile "everything will be fine" by closing the door

I knew that smile was false, when something disturbing happens and they smile at you that means just the opposite, nothing is right and my little sister was in there with a crazy man along with who knows how many more girls.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I scream terrified to hear so many shots that I hide in the depths of the car so that no one sees me.

The shots become more constant that I cover my ears so as not to listen to them, even though I try not to hear them it is inevitable although I don't know at what moment they stopped listening since a silence rolled around me. Slowly I looked again to see many police and paramedics entering the house, time passed quickly before my eyes that I did not realize when it started to rain, some policemen took the criminal known as Steve Walker a man who has been wanted by the police for killing women and stealing and killing little girls, the man struggled while they put him on a patrol while my uncle approaches my parents with a face that I can never forget and what he tells my parents is enough for them to break to cry and I slowly shed tears.

**\- **_**† **_**-**

It had been two days since that night, now we are at my sister's funeral. People approached my parents and my family repeating the same thing that other people said while hugging them.

I looked at the picture of my sister on her last birthday dressed as a Cinderella only that her long brown hair was loose, her bangs covered her forehead but almost reached her beautiful blue eyes. My sister was very happy that day and was already wishing that on her next birthday it will be in five months of Sleeping Beauty, but it would no longer happen.

I feel a presence next to me and I look at my father standing next to me watching my sister's picture.

"I'm going to miss her."

"How are you going to miss her?" He turns to see me "when you are the culprit" I turn to see him scared since he looked at me with a hatred that I never thought I saw in my life "You are the one to blame for your sister is dead!

"No dad ... I..."

"Yes you are!" Clutching my arms abruptly "You had to take care of her and you didn't! You killed her! YOU KILLED YOUR SISTER! "

"LET HER GO EDWARD!" My mother shouts as she grabs his arm "LET HER GO!"

"YOU ARE A KILLER ELA! A KILLER! "Shaking me sharply.

"EDWARD LET HER GO!" My uncle shouts as he pulls it away. "Calm down!"

"Son, please." My grandmother says crying as she grabs his shoulder. "How can you blame her for this? Ela is also your daughter."

"No ... that murderer is not my daughter." He says while pointing at me with hate.

"Edward" my mother says crying in horror.

I get rid of my mother and scream ignoring the screams of others, I leave the funeral home and hide behind a tree where I sit, hugging me with my knees. My dad didn't lie, I should have taken care of Ana and just because I separated while running with the others, that guy took her.

"It was my fault, I moved away from her and that's why he took her away, it was my fault, it was my fault" I repeated those words many times that were engraved in my memory and I doubt that one day I can erase that from my mind.


	2. Chapter 1

**Stockbridge, Massachusetts**

**August 1988**

"_It was my fault, I separated from her and that's why they took her away, it was my fault, it was my fault" sitting on the tree outside the funeral home "it was my fault, my fault_

I open my eyes crying while those words slowly stop being heard, there was no day when I didn't hear my girl's voice repeating that. Slowly I get up in an empty room where there was only one bed, a desk, a chair where my clothes were and Ana's picture where there was a heart-shaped locket with an engraved A.

I grab the locket and wear it to see myself in the mirror, all I see is a 14-year-old girl with long hair that almost reaches her waist, light skin and honey-colored eyes. It's been five years since that tragic night when I lost my little sister. Many things happened at that time, my parents divorced months later and since then I have not seen my dad again and then my mother began dating a time with an old friend of the high school Eric Newton with whom she would later marry, he is a good boy, he treats me well and we are a little united and the good thing is that he respects my space.

"Daughter" My mother knocks on the door. "Ela it's time to get up, come on, you must have breakfast."

"I'm coming mom." I respond as hard as I can, I do not like to talk much.

I grab my clothes and enter my private bathroom where I take my last bath in that house, I could not believe that I would leave the house that I have been living since I was three years old. While bathing I began to remember my life even in these last five years. Well, I have not done anything extraordinary in all this time, just a few spoke to me at school besides that I have been dedicated to studying, reading, learning to play guitar, writing songs, books and many things that I doubt anyone will see them or listen to me, I have also been to therapy for four years since my father left and my therapist has barely managed to talk to other people but only a few words, I do not like to talk and express myself too much, something inside me prevented me.

I finish bathing and go out drying my hair with the towel as I approach the bed where there is a small lump covered by the blanket. He smiles as I uncover Gale, my best friend, a white-handed gibbon of only three years who totally depends on me until he turns 6 or 7, I rescue him after a van got off the road, the cage had been ejected by the impact and there I found him with only one year all scared, as soon as I had him in my arms I never wanted to let go, my mother at first refused but thanks to Eric who said that having it would be good for me, even my Therapist said the same when we talked to him and finally she accepted and after four months of paperwork I had the official permission to keep it, we are very close and always goes with me everywhere hidden in my backpack, Gal knows that he should not leave until I ordered him with key words and that is thanks to some words taught by the veterinarian in Swahili.

"Gale, time to get up, today is the day." I said as I shook him a little but he complained a little. "Gale" I see that he does not get up. "Well, I think I'll eat that rich fruit with caramel." At that moment Gale gets up quickly hugging his teddy bear. "I cheated on you." I say funny while the little one looks at me a little badly. "So you don't get up, come on, the day has come." I said as I began to brush my hair.

After a while I finished brushing because I like to have it loose, I grab Gale, I settle my bed and we quickly go down where my mom and Eric are waiting for me at the table consisting of four chairs.

"Ela, I'm glad you came down on time." Eric says smiling

I just smile a little while I approach the baby chair and feel Gale and then I sit next to him.

"Good morning Ela," my mother says as she kisses me on the head. "How did you sleep?" She asks while serving me scrambled eggs.

"Good" I answer quickly although I lied a little to that question.

My mother serves Gale chopped fruit and he delightedly eats it, while I ate breakfast I looked around, the house was half empty as we moved since Eric was offered a position in one of the most important law firm of Seattle one of the largest cities in America, I was going to go with them at first but my therapist recommended that I go with my uncle who lives in a small town since it was not recommended that in my emotional state I live in a big city . My mother wanted to ask Eric not to accept the job but she knew that an opportunity like that was not going to be repeated so with all the pain of her soul and for my emotional health she decided that I would live with my uncle. The truth is that it seemed really good to my uncle that I was going to live with him more or less permanently, I was very close to him when I was little. He is so excited that he already prepared everything, enrolled me in school, got me an appointment with my new therapist and emptied the TV room to be my room, how cute. But even so I was convinced that I was going to feel uncomfortable in his company.

"It would be better to hurry, the bus leaves in an hour and a half." Eric says looking at his watch.

"How desperate are you?" I ask pretending to be offended.

"Of course not Ela, you are my daughter, my daughter at heart." He says while he strokes my head "I just don't want you to miss the bus.

"That Gale and I missed the bus." I corrected as I watched Gale finish eating.

"Sorry, you two miss the bus." Eric says funny.

"Well Ela, brush your teeth and clean Gale and gather what you're going to take to leave." My mother says trying not to show the pain she feels from having to separate.

I grabbed Gale and took him to the bathroom to clean him, at the end I grabbed my special backpack for Gale since when I leave he is always inside since the backpack has holes for him to breathe, I put Ana's picture, a book, my walkman, my notebooks of songs and my history, my bags were already in the living room since last night so as not to have to lower them, we made garage sales since most of them did not use it or they did not fit me but my mother will give money to buy more in town.

"Ready Gale?" I ask seeing him but he just stares at me. "It's time to go." Sitting on the bed and I feel it on my legs. "Look at this room." Looking around. "As soon as we leave the house we will not return." Stroking his head. "Never again." I sigh sadly as this room witnessed my times of sadness, of pain, when I wrote my first song and many things.

Gale hugs me understanding what was happening, if I left alone it would scare me but with Gale it was obvious that I would not feel alone.

"Let's go." Grabbing my backpack while Gale climbs on my shoulder.

Under the stairs and I see Eric taking out my bags while talking to my mother, I stop at the door and look at the house for the last time, sigh sadly and leave.

"Smile." My mother says with a camera photographing us unexpectedly. "I'm sorry daughter, you know I like big pictures."

"So big is it that Gale and I are leaving?" I ask as I try to recover from the flash.

"You will go with your uncle asa that I want to take every moment of this day, unfortunately I could not at breakfast because Eric hid the camera in the car" She says as she enters the house

"Really? In the car?" I ask raising my eyebrow.

"I know, lousy place," he says nervously.

"Nice try." I smiled a little and sighed. "Take care of her, please."

"I will, you promise me to take care of yourself and that you will do everything possible to smile again."

"I'll try."

"We will go to visit you at Christmas and in the summer, well in summer we will try since you know that in July is our third anniversary." Eric says nervously.

"I don't want to know," I said as I entered the car.

"I don't even know where to take her." He says nervously as he gets into the car.

"Smile" says my mother taking an unexpected photo.

"Mom / Susan!"

After recovering from the flash and Eric took us to the bus station, it was almost forty minutes of road traffic and we managed to arrive ten minutes earlier.

"I'm going to deliver the bags, you're lucky two are on wheels." Erick says while he was carrying my three bags, the third one was on top of one.

I nod a little while looking at my bus with the Derry sign.

"Ela." My mother grabs my cheek. "Are you ready?"

"I don't know" I answer looking at the floor.

"I would love to take you with us but your emotional health comes first."

"Do you have everything? Your backpack, food for the road, your blanket for your cold, Gale's doll, everything?" My mom asks me for the thousandth time while she accompanied me to the bus.

"I suffer a depression no more."

"Daughter" my mother grabs my hands. "Promise me that you will work with your new therapist so that you better, promise me.

"I will do what I can." Is the only thing I answer since I doubt that I can improve, if the previous therapist barely managed to talk a little with other people I doubt very much that the new can do more "I will miss you mom."

"I'll miss you so much Ela." She says hugging me. "I'll call every day, I'll write to you and ... I'll do my best to get in touch with you." She releases me a little. "Say hello to James from me." While stroking the head of Gale who was in my arms.

"Yes, I will do it. I love you mom."

"Ready, everything is ready." Eric says approaching and looks at me "you better get on."

I sat a little and Eric hugged me tightly, I knew it hurt to let me go like mom.

"Take care of yourself." Eric says smiling.

"You too."

We hugged for another minute; then, I got on the bus where the passengers looked at Gale with surprise, they had probably never traveled with a gibbon and that didn't matter to me, I wish I had a car since we wouldn't have to put up with it.

To get to Derry was a trip of almost seven hours for almost an hour in Portland, Gale slept almost all the way while I took the opportunity to listen to music and read the Forrest Gump book.

After a long trip we finally reached our destination, Gale got into my backpack and then I grabbed my things, I got out of the bus and picked up my bags, luckily they weighed but still I had difficulty moving, it didn't take long to find my Uncle, I approached him slowly and my uncle hugs me awkwardly with one arm but with force.

"It's good to see you, Ela." he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me. "You haven't changed much. How's Susan?"

"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Uncle." I said smiling a little.

"And ... Where is my nephew?" He asks a little sarcastic as he separates from me.

"I show you in the car." I said turning sideways to find myself in front of a police car. "Oh no." I said surprised.

"In these hours I am on duty but as it is a special occasion they let me out early to come for you." He says as he opens the passenger door.

I hand him my bags and get into the car, I didn't feel like his niece at this time since I felt he had just been arrested and surely many would think the same.

I waited for my uncle to finish putting my bags in the trunk to get up to introduce Gale, he was surprised by the news that I have a gibbon and luckily he accepted that Gale came since it was obvious since if he had rejected Gale I would not have come.

"Ok." My uncle says as he enters the car.

"Well ... **Kutoka**" when saying that Gale comes out of the backpack, it means going out in Swahili.

"So this is my nephew?" Asks my uncle while looking at Gale who looked at him nervously. "It is small."

"It's a Gibbon."

"I know that, well I already signed the necessary sheets so you don't have problems with your gibbon, you just have to give the license, the permits and you read the documents, I leave all the documents in your room."

"Thank you."

"What is **Kutoka**?" He asks confused as he advances.

"The vet recommended me a few key words and since he is African American, he taught me a few, taking advantage of the fact that Swahili, the native language of his grandparents, can speak." I could from the town.

"Is your mother and her husband also using it?" He asks without taking his eyes off the road.

"Just listen to me" I reply without seeing him.

"Then he won't listen to me?"

"He behaves well and is always with me, he doesn't make any mess."

"If you say so."

While my uncle was driving I looked at the town, nothing had changed and that I hardly remember, Gale looked at everything since everything was new to him, caressed his head and still looking around.

"You'll love Derry, he's made a lot of progress," he says, smiling a little.

"Really?" I ask since I don't see any progress

The town is beautiful, of course, I could not deny it. In addition it looked very calm as if nothing bad happened, but I know that appearances are deceiving, while I saw the landscape I saw something that caught my attention, I see a red balloon like blood floating in the middle of two trees, I don't know why but that Balloon caused me chills.

After a while trying to talk since we felt uncomfortable trying to express our emotions out loud, which seems to be hereditary, we finally arrived at my new home, it is a small two-bedroom house that he bought when he married his girlfriend The high school who, unfortunately, died in an accident ten years ago, does not have the courage to leave the place.

"Welcome home." My uncle says parking in front.

I order Gale to go into the backpack, I didn't want anyone to see him. We entered the house and everything was clean and tidy, then we climbed the stairs and my uncle guided me to the bedroom on the west side, which faced the front yard. I was surprised at what I found, the walls were painted lilac, a mirrored closet, a single bed and a hammock cradle in front for Gale and a desk.

"I don't know if you like lilac but ... they recommended that color."

"Lilac is cute" I say while I see my room, I did not deny it, lilac is one of my favorite colors.

"Well ... you even have a private bathroom." Opening the door.

I see that it is a small bathroom completely clean with white towels with lilac flowers and a white mat.

"I'll prepare dinner, I let you settle," he says as he leaves the room.

I sigh when I open my backpack and put Gale in the crib, who seemed surprised by her new bed.

"I know, I know I said we would sleep together but he was kind enough to buy that hammock crib." I said smiling a little.

Gale sits in the crib and I could say that he loved it because he quickly snuggled up, smiled to see him happy and dedicated myself to accommodate my things in the closet. I sighed when I saw my surroundings and I would like to say that I am ready for a new beginning, a forced start.


End file.
